


Cockroach Vignette #6: Long Way Home

by BigSciencyBrain



Series: Refuge [6]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Just setting up a few chess pieces, M/M, Nothing to see here, don't mind me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-09
Updated: 2013-12-09
Packaged: 2018-01-04 02:58:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1075720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BigSciencyBrain/pseuds/BigSciencyBrain
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Loki always finds a way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cockroach Vignette #6: Long Way Home

“Allfather.” Sif and Volstagg halted at the base of the throne and saluted. “It is done. The Aether is with the Collector, as you commanded.”

“Asgard owes you a debt of gratitude.” Loki didn’t think he would ever get used to hearing Odin’s voice come from his own lips. 

“And Thor, my king?” Sif asked.

Brave, brave Sif, he mused. “You wish to follow him to Midgard, Lady Sif?”

She bowed her head. “If it would be your will.” 

“It is not.” He leaned back in the throne. “Do not take my refusal as unkind, Lady Sif. Your heart, and those of your friends, is loyal and true, of this I have no doubt. This is the path Thor has chosen. Where it will take him, even I do not know.”

Sif nodded, though the tightness of her jaw belied her acceptance. “He must see it through. I understand, Allfather.”

He saw plainly in Sif’s face that she had questions and could not quite bring herself to ask them. Those questions would have to be dealt with, but he had time. For now, they did not doubt him and left without another word. Once he was alone, he returned to his mother’s chambers; he could not bring himself to think of the rooms as his. For a long time, he gazed out at the stars beyond Asgard. The Bifrost housing caught the corner of his eye and he had to resist the urge to go to Heimdall, to ask for word about Steve.

The Allfather had no reason to ask about the welfare of a mere mortal.

Loki turned his gaze back to the seemingly endless expanse of space. Had he been gifted with Heimdall’s sight, he would be able to see into the curving branches of Yggdrasil itself. Perhaps he would even be able to see the evil lurking on the far side of the universe. Without Heimdall’s gift, he could only know that the trap was set and it was a matter of waiting for Thanos to make his next move. It had bought him time, no more than that.

And if Heimdall were to turn his gaze to the palace, he would see that the Allfather had retired to bed in the darkened chambers.

Under a veil, Loki slipped from the palace and followed one of the secret paths that led from Asgard out into the stars. He felt the change from one step to the next, as he left Asgard behind. His boots sounded against the stone beneath his feet. He conjured an orb of pale green light to guide him down the narrow passageway cut into black stone. The air grew warm and heavy as he descended further, stopping at a plain wooden door that belied the value of its contents. Despite knowing that no one could possibly have followed him, he made sure to lock the door securely behind him.

The room was simply furnished, with a wide bed and a single chair being the only large items in the room. In one corner, a metal cage housed a large raven; feathers fluttered and it squawked harshly at the sight of Loki. Lamps along the wall lit with a wave of his hand and illuminated the sleeping man lying in the bed.

Odin.

“Mother said that you would be able to hear me as you slept,” Loki said softly. His voice echoed against the bare stone walls. He dragged the chair slowly to the side of the bed and sat down, watching the slow rise of the Allfather’s chest. The onset of the Odinsleep had been a piece of luck and Loki had taken full advantage of it. This Odinsleep would not be like the others, however; should the Allfather awaken before Loki needed him to, he would be trapped this place, far away from Asgard.

Loki wondered if he should feel sympathy for the Allfather. His imprisonment had been no less than he’d expected from the Allfather; a scolding for a wayward child. Still, he couldn’t entirely squash the resentment that a guard had been the one to tell him of Frigga’s death, rather than Odin or Thor. Had he known the stairway to the left would lead the monster to Frigga - he brushed away those thoughts; they were still too painful. 

“I’m going to tell you a story,” he began. 

**

Heimdall was surprised when the warrior approached the Bifrost housing. When the Allfather had told him that he wished to send another from Asgard to aid Thor in his fight against the villains of Midgard, he had expected the Lady Sif or one of the Warriors Three.

“Heimdall,” the warrior greeted him respectfully, offering him a crisp salute. He was dressed simply rather than in the full regalia of the palace.

“I do not know your name, warrior,” Heimdall said. The pricking at his skin that something was amiss in Asgard became more insistent.

“Brandr,” the warrior answered.

Heimdall saw no fear in him, no unease. Most warriors who were unfamiliar with the Bifrost, and Heimdall himself, were often nervous when they first met him. It was a reputation that Heimdall traded on more often than not. But this warrior was not. He faced the Bifrost with an unusual eagerness that he couldn’t quite hide. No doubt he believed that attending to Thor on Midgard would advance him within the ranks.

“Are you ready?” Heimdall asked as he moved into position, sliding the sword into the gears of the Bifrost.

“I have waited for this moment a very long time."

“You will find Midgard very different from Asgard.” The Bifrost tunnel began to form, spiraling out in light and howling forces. He had just opened his mouth to tell Brandr to brace himself when the warrior stepped forward and disappeared into the whirling vortex.

When Heimdall saw that he had landed safely on Midgard, he turned the sword and the Bifrost’s energies ceased immediately. He set the sword aside and moved to his observation point, watching out over the cosmos.

Strange, he thought. It had been as though the young Brandr had used the Bifrost before, though Heimdall knew that could not be true.

He glanced back over his shoulder, searching out the palace and within its walls, the Allfather. Odin was standing at his balcony, no doubt to watch the Bifrost fire so he would know Brandr had found his way to Midgard. The Allfather looked so very weary; the Odinsleep was long overdue.

Heimdall turned uneasily back to his watch.


End file.
